Overview

What's new in aMPed by release.

3.6

Due to the changes in aMPedConfig and BasicHome you must re-save any Basic Home mods, and load MP from aMPedConfig to initialize the new settings.

• Changelog (Google Code Issue Tracker) for aMPed 3.6.x

New

• Colorized Themes - color by number! (see Custom Themes for details)
• aMPed Skin Settings in MP Settings > GUI > Skin -  retained until you run aMPedConfig (including TV Guide rows)
  Note: you must also change list width whenever you change layouts in GUI Settings (it does not preserve them per layout like aMPedConfig does)
• redesigned dialogs to support new custom themes
• added settings button to TV Guide context menu to jump to TV Settings to change rows
• added Video/Picture backdrops setting to menus on screens that support it, e.g. Pictures, Video Shares/Playlists in Thumbs layout
• Wide Fanart layout for home screens
• background for lists now adjusts to selected list width
• reworked Settings screens - added Settings Menu to improve navigation, as well as Extensions button on menu
• reworked OSD layout - added actors on 4x3 screens- improved layout - thin progress bar on top
• Thinner progress bar on Now Playing, Lyrics, etc so text displays below progress bar rather than on top
• Left/Right lines changed to side overlays on True 4x3 Fanart Layout

aMPedConfig

• new option to 'Use abbreviated date format' (abbreviate months/days in date) - removed Date tab
• new option to display 'aMPed logo on Home Screens'
• changed 'About' tab to 'Readme' and updated links, added new link for Survey/Feedback.

Plugins Added

• WorldClock 1.2.0
• Volume Control 1.2.0
• FritzBox v1.0.0.4556

Plugins Updated

• mvCentral 1.0.4 - MP 1.3.0 compatibility and change togglebuttons to checkbuttons
• Update Control 1.2.0 - change togglebuttons to checkbuttons
• BTW 1.1.0 - Bookmarks/status displa
• GlobalSearch 1.8.0.68 - change togglebuttons to checkbuttons 
• TraktPlugin v2.9.0 - change togglebuttons to checkbuttons plus filter buttons in Trending window
• MP-TVSeries 3.5.0.2028 - change togglebuttons to checkbuttons and Rate Dialog
• Anime3 3.1.32 - changed toggle buttons to checkbuttons in Random menu

Fixed

• OV Dialog - list control too long to display label (press F9 on youtube)
• icon position on lists for different font sizes (where displayed i.e. Trakt Dashboard
• teletext window size
• Music Cover grabber skin files
• missing radio logos in media overlay/preview when using pls playlists

Basic Home/Editor

• added World Clock in place of Daily Comics which seems to be extinct
• added Current Playlist in place of Music Trivia - also obsolete now
• added Volume Control in place of Alarm - another obsolete plugin
• added support for Argus to the Editor

3.5.x

• Changelog (Google Code Issue Tracker) for aMPed 3.5.x

New

• 1.3.0 compatibility, including
  • new skin features/changes
  • new Settings in MP
  • TV OSD - Comskip Timeline/Markers
  • TV Guide - Genre Colors/Map
• new content rating logos
• New Sound scheme
• Recorded TV - added Filmstrip and Coverflow layouts

Plugins Added

• World Weather Lite 0.5.0
• Argus 2.0.1
• Emulators2 0.2.1

Plugins Updated

• World Weather 1.1.0
• Moving Pictures 1.5.1 with GUI Importer
• Online Videos 1.5.0
• My Films 6.0.2
• Trakt 2.7.0
• TVWishList v 1.3.0
• Anime3 v 3.1.30

Fixed

• Moving Pictures - user ratings
• FTR 1.7.0 - 1.3.0 compatibility issues
• File menu dialog
• Teletext - full screen 
• Images border reflections
• TV Series - back navigation from Episode to Series/Season
• revaMPed Basic Home - backdrops for Updates/Settings
• Virtual Keyboard label
• Extensions info - Status, Compatibility, Downloads display
• many other minor fixes/improvements

3.4

• Changelog (Google Code Issue Tracker) for aMPed 3.4.x

aMPed goes wide! As of version 3.4, aMPed scales down to 4:3 screen sizes instead of up to 16:9 wide screens. This results in a much better resolution of graphics and images on all screen sizes.

Although aMPed 3.4 still looks and functions essentially the same, and provides the same features, the entire skin code and almost every file (including skin media/images) has changed. 

WARNING to SVN users:

If you use aMPed SVN, be sure to 'checkout' or update the whole trunk:  http://amped.googlecode.com/svn/trunk . See the Testing aMPed section on the Using aMPed SVN  wiki page for details, or if you have issues.  Your first update will likely take a while!

However, if you install aMPed 3.4 beta from the MPE1 installer, you can continue to use SVN only for skin updates, but the first update will still take some time.

Updating from v 3.3.x

If you have previously used aMPed and are upgrading to 3.4, aMPedConfig will keep your previous settings for you. However since the entire screen resolution has changed, be sure to update your list widths on the Layouts tab (see the tool tip for recommended widths)

Note: On 4:3 screens a maximum width of 400 is recommended. However depending on the plugins and views you use (e.g. if you don't use TV Series Group views like Genres), you may use even wider lists if you prefer.

New!

• many layouts have been redesigned and improved for widescreen
• there are literally hundreds of minor graphics and layout improvements in v 3.4, I can't even remember them all! See how many you can spot, and let me know  
• aMPed 3.4 now works for mouse and touch screen users on 16:9 screens - all clickable controls should work (only supported on 4:3 screens previously)
• True 4x3 screen size layout (aMPed 4:3 is based on PAL 4:3 - the default for MediaPortal - which is actually 5:4) 
• Wide fanart layout style is now supported for all screen sizes

Basic Home

• Vintage Basic Home layout can now be used and edited for 16x9 as well as 4x3 screen sizes, and includes backdrops on sub menus.  However they can be changed only by editing the skin xml (see Basic Home Editor > Vintage Classic for details).
• Touch - a new Basic Home layout combines both revaMPed and Vintage - now you may use revaMPed layout as your main screen with Vintage Sub Menus. aMPed will use the sub menu layouts you last selected in aMPedConfig.
• Vintage layout's Extra Menu 1 sub menu has been renamed aMPed Menu and can be used as a quick menu of your favorite plugins (Extra Menu bug has been fixed so all sub menus work now)
   Extra Menu 1 is obsolete and won't work. However, It will still appear in Vintage Basic Home Editor to preserve compatibility with your previous mods of Vintage layout.  To avoid issues in future, you should r*emove ExtraMenu1.xml* from any mods you create in:
  • your skin\aMPed\Layouts\BasicHome folder
  • backups stored in C:\ProgramData\aMPed\BasicHome (or wherever your program data is stored)
• default revaMPed layout now displays only one sub menu level.
  • The Games menu has been removed (since there are so few games for MP 1.2.x or later),
  • Extensions replaces Updates if no updates are available, and
  • Settings have moved to the Actions menu (left arrow from main menu),
  • System menu has moved up a level.
  • Pictures menu item/link now displays on the main menu, with a submenu listing games and miscellaneous plugins.

Note: Although aMPedConfig will auto update your existing mods, you will not get the new features (such as Settings and Extensions on the action men) or backdrops on Vintage sub menus) unless you recreate your mods from the default revaMPed layout. It is highly recommended that you recreate your Basic Home mods from the new default layouts.

Improved Layouts

• widescreen fanart layout - now displays even more of your fanart/backdrops and is available for all screen sizes.
• Big Icon list layout - used in aMPed for wide lists (without icons), has been used for many lists that contain a lot of data that cannot be separated (especially Music plugins like Smart Playlists, Global Search, radio plugins, etc.)
• Coverflow layout - now uses aMPed's Details view (accessed via down arrow) instead of the card back
• Icons Layouts - now display large images as well as the layout. Where there is no text to display (such as in Pictures), aMPed uses a 'video wall' style layout for icons views.
• Filmstrip layouts - now display actors and other info in main view and details when accessing the menu (unfortunately the down arrow does not work in filmstrip layout so there is no way to access aMPed's Details view yet.) Backdrops now display in filmstrip layouts, except on 16x9 fanart layout, since the fanart images are not full screen.
• Playlists - now display more data, as well as large images similar to the new Icons layouts.
• Media overlays (preview windows) - are now widescreen and display your music fanart (if available) via the Fanart Handler plugin when music is playing
• the Video and TV OSDs (On Screen Display) have been redesigned and now display OSD controls by default, thus more accessible to mouse and touch screen users. The up arrow can be used to expand the display for more text.

Plugins Added

• iSpy (1.1.5)
• TvWishList (1.2.2.3)

Plugins Updated

• TV Series (3.3.1) 
• Extensions (1.0.7) 
• World Weather (0.5.5)
• Update Control (1.0.2) - 1.0.3 coming soon!
• HTPC Info (1.4.5) - 1.5.0 coming soon!
• Online Videos (1.2.0)
• Latest Media Handler (1.5.0.9)
• BrowseTheWeb (3.6.0)
• Score Center (2.7.0)
• Trakt (1.7.0)
• Smart Playlists (1.1.4.3)
• My Films (6.0 beta) - Note: 5.1 is not supported in aMPed 3.4
• Anime (2.6.2.2) Note: Anime 3 beta is coming soon - maybe before final release of aMPed 3.4)

3.3.3

 Version 3.3.3 is mainly an update for new plugins and updated versions of plugins:

• Changelog (Google Code Issue Tracker) for aMPed 3.3.3

New!

• Now Playing pop-up when playing videos full screen
• Image borders adjust for screen size
• Minor graphics and layouts improvements/tweaks

Plugins Added

• mpNZB (1.5.4)
• Update Control (1.0.1)
• Opera Mobile Launcher (0.3.0)

Plugins Updated

• Youtube.fm (0.8.3)
• mvCentral (1.0.2)
• Online Videos (1.1.0)
• FTR (1.6.1 beta) (backwards compatible for 1.6.0)
• IMDB+ (1.5.0)
• Trakt (1.5.1)
• yrWeather (1.0.2)
• World Weather Plugin (0.4.5)
• Extensions (1.0.5)

Fixed

• IMDB+ 1.5.0 Settings in Extensions Settings
• TV Guide Video Overlay/Preview Channel Text
• Current time in OSD barely readable
• Toggle button zoom

3.3.2

3.3.2 was intended mainly as an update for new plugins and updated versions of plugins. However, changes to Infoservice, no longer supporting recently added media, and the Weather plugin involved more changes than expected.

• Changelog (Google Code Issue Tracker) for aMPed 3.3.2

New!

• Improved Expanded Video/TV OSD  (with Video/Audio/Subtitles menus/options)
• Basic Home Editor auto updates user mods
• Menu links - between mvCentral and YouTube.fm and from Pandora and Now Playing to YouTube.fm 
• Higher res logos and splash screens
• Improved TV-Series Group Views
• Other small graphics improvements

Plugins Added

• World Weather (0.2.5)  - replaces the Weather plugin which is no longer working, and displays weather on Basic Home as well as current Temp/weather icon on most screens
• yrWeather (1.0) - for locations not yet available via World Weather
• Latest Media Handler (1.0.0.7) - replaces the InfoService recently added tickers on Home screens
• mvCentral (1.0) - replaces the Music Vids plugins which is no longer developed
• MyEmulators (4.0) - a new version of the previous MyEmulators plugin

Plugins Updated

• Youtube.fm (0.8)
• InfoService (1.6.6)
• Trakt (1.3.0)
• HTPC Info (1.3.1)
• IMDB+ (1.4.0)

Fixed:

• Folder Icons not displaying in Recorded TV
• Media Overlay/Preview displaying on top of thumb images in some cases
• Settings Screen for TV - removed unsupported/obsolete options
• SMS style Virtual Keyboard where 18 pt text does not fit on button

3.3.1

• Changelog (Google Code Issue Tracker) for aMPed 3.3 (beta)
• Changelog (Google Code Issue Tracker) for aMPed 3.3.1

1.2.0 Skin Features

aMPed 3.3 supports the new MP 1.2.0 Skin features required to make the skin compatible with 1.2.0 as well as many new skin enhancements provided with 1.2.0.

Obsolete skin files have been removed and many minor improvements have been made. Notably animations have improved now they are working correctly in 1.2.0.  The new skin features have allowed new layout options in aMPed 3.3.

Music

Music Lovers Rejoice!! One of the big changes in aMPed 3.3.x is extended support for music. With MP 1.2.0 all music properties in ID3 tags can be displayed in the skin. On list layouts, you may use the right arrow for Details View to display:

• In Artist View Levels - Artist bio and details such as dated of birth, years active, genres, styles, tones, etc. You still need to use Show Info (F3) to display discography
• In Album View levels - Album reviews and details such as year, rating, genre, styles, tones, etc.
• In Track/Song Views/Levels - many Track details including media file info, and played stats

Music info is available on all MP Music screens, Now Playing, Playlists and even in Global Search Details.

See Music Browsing Skin Properties for more info.

Plus, aMPed 3.3 now supports the Rockstar and Pandora internet radio plugins in addition to RadioTime and StreamRadio plugins which were already supported.

MPEI

Installer

The new aMPed installer now uses MPEI fully to support version compatibility in MP 1.2.0

MPEI Updates

!Features^extension_update.png!If you have installed the Extensions plugin, whenever an update is available for any MPEI Extension you have installed, aMPed will display the MPEI update icon on all Home Screens.  Just press the right arrow to access the button, which will take you directly to the Extensions.

On revaMPed Basic Home, press the left arrow to go to the Actions sub menu where the Update button will display.

Graphics

• All new higher resolution backdrops
• Skinnable Virtual keyboards
• Custom weather images
• Weather backdrops based on weather conditions
• New splash screens
• New genre logos
• Music group view images
• Clear art images (if you have them!) in Video on-screen display (OSD) when TV Series are playing
• New Menu arrow graphic, and Details View right arrow graphic
• New image borders
• Deeper colors in default aMPed and Super Blue themes
• Larger covers and thumbs images
• New gold played color when videos are watched
• New Watched/Unwatched icons in video screens
• Fanart backdrops for Pictures (so you get high res thumb backdrop and not for folder images)
• Fanart backdrops in TV windows (where supported)

Home Screens

• renamed Classic Basic Home layout to Vintage to avoid confusion with MP settings for Classic Home (My Home)
• New backdrop collections can be used in either revaMPed or Vintage Basic Home layouts
• Removed obsolete plugins and added new options for new plugins and features
• Added support for selecting backdrops to the Classic (My) Home and (My) Plugin screens

Navigation

• Improved navigation by adding Hyperlinks to Menus, in blue text to distinguish them
• All menus can now be closed with either left or right arrow
• Improved speed/performance when navigating the skin by speeding up animations

Layouts

• Details view - new virtual view for actors, plot etc. accessible via right arrow key in lists
• Details tickers - have been  revaMPed  to use the new skin expressions in MP 1.2.0. Labels are localized (translated) and data is only displayed when available. The separator has changed from ':::' to '|'
• Plot and Actors - standardized display of plot and actors text in all views and layouts
• Wide lists - now available even in widescreen size - choose your backdrop style -  Fanart (default - visible) No Fanart (only visible when viewing Menus or Details), or Wide Fanart on 16x9 screens
• Big Covers - now you can choose either big or default cover size with or without fanart or backdrops
• Big Icon List layout - now gives you a wide list in supported screens - Music, Recorded TV/Radio and Youtube
• Music Info - added all Music Database (ID3 tag) properties, such as artist bios, album reviews, etc. to Music database views (using new Details layout)
• Item count details - updated itemcount to display even more specific type of items wherever possible
• OSD - expandable On Screen display (OSD) for video and TV OSD
• Widescreen layouts - improved many widescreen layouts
• TV - Improved TV window layouts in Recorded/Scheduled TV, TV Search, Program Info, etc - and added fanart support and video thumbnail backdrops (if enabled)
• Coverflow layout - Added to windows that support it
• Now Playing - improved Music Now Playing Layouts
• Icons Layouts - improved and made icons a bit larger

Plugin Changes

All plugins have been updated to support 1.2.0 versions see Supported Plugins

Added

• HTPC Info
• Trakt
• Netflix (US only)
• MyFilms 5
• TV Series - support for sports shows (using genre=sports)
• Rockstar
• SubCentral
• Pandora (US only)
• Browse the Web
• IMDB+ (for Moving Pictures

Removed

• Trailers ( moved to IMDB Trailers in the Online Videos plugin
• Removed obsolete plugins such as Burner and Video Editor

aMPedConfig

Now you can mix and match layout and backdrop options with the new options for:

• List layouts
• Big Covers

See Choosing Options for details how to combine the options to get the 'look' you prefer.

The Fanart Handler options have been removed since now you can select backdrop options independently. If you don't want fanart, just disable it in Fanart Handler plugin.

The My Films fanart options have been removed because My Films now supports fanart natively as well as automatic logos configuration.